Main menu

Text Resize

Suozzi Nabs Gun Safety Group Endorsement

September 29, 2016

By:

James Farrell

Queens Tribune

Tom Suozzi, candidate for the 3rd Congressional District, secured an endorsement from Americans for Responsible Solutions, a group that advocates for “commonsense” gun control measures while still supporting Americans’ Second Amendment rights to own guns.

The endorsement came just before Suozzi’s roundtable discussion in Huntington this past weekend, which was focused on gun reform.

“I’m honored to receive this endorsement,” said Suozzi. “Gabby and Mark [Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly] are doing wonderful work to find solutions to a growing problem in our country by bringing people from across the political spectrum together to advance commonsense reforms that respect the Second Amendment and seek to reduce gun violence.”

Americans for Responsible Solutions was founded by former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who resigned from office in 2012 following a 2011 shooting in Tucson that made national headlines. Giffords was one of 18 victims shot by a 22-year-old gunman during a community meeting in a supermarket parking lot. She survived a gunshot wound to the head.

This shooting and other shootings around the country prompted Giffords and her husband, Mark Kelly, a U.S. Navy captain and astronaut, to start the group.

“As gun owners and strong supporters of the Second Amendment, Gabby and Mark know we must protect the rights of Americans to own guns for collection, recreation and protection,” the Americans for Responsible Solutions website reads. “But they also agree with the vast majority of Americans, including gun owners, that commonsense protections from gun violence can prevent shootings from shattering communities like Tucson, Aurora and Newtown.”

Giffords and Kelly mentioned this bipartisan effort in their endorsement of Suozzi.

“We are proud to support Tom Suozzi, a champion for the vocal majority of New Yorkers who are calling for bipartisan action to help prevent gun tragedies,” said Giffords and Kelly in a joint statement. “We know that Tom will be a strong voice in Congress for closing the dangerous loopholes in our laws that put our communities at risk, for saving lives and for making our communities safer. We need more leaders like Tom – leaders who will protect the rights of law-abiding gun owners like us, stand up to the Washington gun lobby, and stand up for common sense.”

The 3rd Congressional seat for which Suozzi is running is being vacated by current U.S. Rep. Steve Israel. It covers part of Queens.